Less than one month after its nearly $4 billion One Medical acquisition, Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) is reportedly in contention to make another big deal.
The online retail and tech giant is among the bidders of in-home health care company Signify Health (NYSE: SGFY), according to The Wall Street Journal.
Amazon joins a group of powerhouse large public reportedly interested in buying Signify, including CVS Health (NYSE: CVS), Option Care Health NASDAQ: OPCH and UnitedHealth Group NYSE: UNH in a bidding war that could drive the price as high as $8 billion, according to additional reporting by The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News.
In addition to CVS, UnitedHealth and Open Care Health, there are rumors of significant interest from private equity; and Signify reportedly tapped investment banks Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank to advise it on strategic options earlier this year.
Dallas-based Signify is a value-based care platform that connects patients with health plans and health systems so they can receive care services in their own homes. Signify last month announced it would be focusing on the in-home portion of its business.
Signify completed about 624,000 in-home evaluations in the second quarter of 2022, which was a record for the company, according to SHN sister publication Home Health Care News.
Buying Signify would bolster Amazon’s focus on the in-home portion of the care continuum. And no matter who buys the company in the end, the move will likely have implications for the senior living industry, as many in-home care companies already consider residents’ units to be their homes.
It’s not clear whether Signify holds that view, however, and a representative for the company said it “does not comment on market rumors or speculation” when reached by Senior Housing News
Though Seattle-based Amazon is a new potential suitor for Signify Health, rumors regarding the in-home health care company’s future have swirled since the start of August, when reports surfaced that the company was exploring a sale.
But Amazon’s new interest in Signify shows that its interest in health care and by extension senior care is not waning.
In March of 2021, Amazon hired senior living veteran Ginna Baik to the post of senior business development manager for senior living, where she joined its Alexa Smart Properties team.
Seven months later, Alexa Smart Properties announced that an enterprise version of the voice-activated smart assistant would be soft-launched in hospitals and luxury senior living communities, including Atria Senior Living.
And just last month, Amazon announced an open competition for developers to create Alexa skills specifically aimed at senior living — both at home and in communities — with prizes for chosen skills exceeding $45,000.
Signify Health shares closed at $28, up 32.2% on the day while Amazon shares closed at $133.22, down 3.62% on the day.
